The CNES Selects Pangea Aerospace to Develop Preliminary Design of High-Power Rocket Engine for ASTRE Project.

· The Toulouse-based start-up has been selected by CNES (the French National Centre for Space Studies) to design the next European full-flow staged combustion engine, the most powerful in the continent.

· Pangea Aerospace is one of four companies selected by the CNES as part of the ASTRE (Advanced Staged-combustion Technologies for Reusable Engines) project and will be responsible for designing the final engine.

· This appointment reinforces Pangea Aerospace’s position as a key player in the development of high-thrust engines in Europe, with the objective of competing with the leading international players, particularly in the United States, in the space transportation sector.

Toulouse, 18 June 2025 – Pangea Aerospace, a start-up specialising in the development of propulsion systems for the aerospace sector, based in Toulouse, has been selected by CNES (French National Centre for Space Studies) to carry out the preliminary design of Europe’s most powerful rocket engine and define the programme aspects (key technology development plan, associated costs, etc.).

Pangea Aerospace France will therefore carry out the preliminary design of a high-thrust engine based on a Full-Flow Staged-Combustion (FFSC) cycle. This closed-cycle technology, developed for the first time in Europe, is a genuine revolution aimed at developing, by 2030, the most powerful and efficient engine ever developed on the continent.

Pangea Aerospace is one of four companies selected under the ASTRE programme. This recognition reinforces the confidence of the French institutional ecosystem in Pangea Aerospace, which has been selected, among other reasons, to strengthen synergies with the European Space Agency’s (ESA) Very High Thrust project, also led by the Franco-Spanish company.

Leading the Future of European Engines

This decision positions Pangea as a key player in the emergence of the future European engine, at the forefront of the new generation of large European space propulsion systems. Its positioning is based on both technical expertise and a business model focused exclusively on designing and marketing propulsion systems for the aerospace sector. This specialisation enables Pangea Aerospace to create more efficient, competitive and sustainable engines, thereby improving the profitability of launch vehicle operators.

The ASTRE project is structured around nine lines of work, covering all stages from the development of key technologies to test benches. Pangea Aerospace has been selected to carry out the complete preliminary engine design (PDR).

The activities carried out by Pangea Aerospace will focus on various strategic areas including engine design, development planning, and the identification of the programme’s costs until its commissioning, scheduled for 2030. The company will also collaborate with other key partners in the sector to advance the implementation of the Full-Flow Staged Combustion (FFSC) cycle-based system, identify major technological challenges, and propose concrete solutions to overcome them. These activities will also include the complete preliminary design of the engine, including control, thrust regulation (from 30% to 100%), instrumentation selection, materials, and manufacturing processes.

The first major stage of the project – with an estimated duration of three years – will be the System Requirements Review (SRR), which will include conceptual design, functional specifications, the system’s CONOPs (Concept of Operations) and the development plan.

About Pangea Aerospace

Founded in Spain in 2018, Pangea Aerospace is an aerospace start-up specialising in the development of space propulsion systems, with offices in Barcelona and Toulouse. The company has achieved a historic milestone by successfully starting up an Aerospike engine powered by methane and liquid oxygen. This is one of the most efficient, sustainable, reusable, scalable and competitive technological solutions in the industry. This engine, manufactured using 3D printing, is designed to be reused at least 10 times. It also uses environmentally friendly fuels that reduce CO2 emissions by up to 50% compared to conventional kerosene engines. Thanks to these innovations, Pangea Aerospace is positioning itself as a pioneer in advanced space propulsion development.